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Nausicaa – 4 Company HQ Chimera

Here it is, my first completed 40k vehicle and first in the armoured infantry platoon of my Nausicaan rebels!

At one point, I was afraid it looked like it was made of chocolate. Yummy, but not exactly what I was looking for. I hope it doesn’t give that impression any more, not too much at least. I am not entirely sure why I chose brown in the first place, but I think it works well together with the golden and copper colours, which match in turn with the armour on the Vostroyan infantry models I have already painted. The brown matches with their fur hats and leather boot as well, I could say – and its common knowledge that you should always have matching accessories.

Speaking of gear, the turret is either representing a multilaser on a AA mount, with all the mount being just for show, or a Taurox prime with a more credibly portrayed gatling cannon – the problem being that Nausicaans and the Ordo Tempestus are not likely to get well together, as you’ll see in the next post. Smokers and searchlight are at their place, as well as a heavy bolter. I didn’t put lasguns sticking out of the six fire points because I don’t like the look of them sticking out, precisely – until I find a suitable replacement idea I will just leave them like that.

Weathering is minimal bar none. The battlefield is definitely going to be snowy, but I can’t find a good way of putting snow on the tank without it looking a bit ridiculous. It already looked like confectionery, I didn’t want it to look like Christmas knick-knack next. I’m going to consider mud and battle damage at a later stage, once I wrapped my mind around who exactly are Nausicaans going to face against, and after I get some more painting experience under my belt. For the time being, I’m quite pleased.

I added the word “Nausicaa” in Cyrillic characters on the side of the turret and the two parts of an anarchic slogan on the two scrolls on the sides of the hull, reading in tiny Gothic characters: “Nec deus, nec dominus” – neither god nor master. I think the motto perfectly expresses both the Nausicaans’ attitude toward compromise and the guts to go with it. More decals will follow after I complete the whole mechanised squadron. I’ll add other icons depending on the unit’s performance, if I ever get to play it in a game.

As a final eye-candy (I can’t break out from the cake shop, it seems), a screenshot of a Tolmekian tank highjacked by Nausicaan paesants from Miyazaki’s Nausicaa, which was a vague source of inspiration in the back of my mind.

It’s looking good. The brown and gold go well together. Do you plan on highlighting the gold? I mix some silver and gold together to highlight my gold. What a great movie. I think I am going to have to have a Miyazaki night soon. I haven’t watched Nausicaa and Mononoke for a while.

I might have overdone it, but the gold’s actually my top highlight for most of the metal parts. If you’re thinking about the track protections for instance, I agree, they do look a bit flat. But I think I’m going to shade them a bit more rather than highlight them. Give it some natural sunlight and Vallejo’s Glorious Gold will shine more than enough on its own! 🙂